Customer Reviews

School For Fools, Songs of Jeff Alexander

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What a cool record! This is the best new blues I have heard in a long time! A great old time sound. Larry Thurston is an amazing singer, and these songs, wow! These are the best blues lyrics to come around in years. I have to admit, I bought the cd because Levon Helm is a featured performer on the recording, and we all know we don't hear enough of Levon any more, but this was a find! I can't say enough about Jeff Alexander's songs. He manges to paint exceptionally vivid lyrical pictures, always in a delivery that is appealing to the ears linguistically and musically.
I can't even pick a favorite song, I love em all! "Happy Hour" is knee slapping funny, and at the same time a song that describes the sanctuary of a great love relationship. Johnnie Johnson gives a real Johnnie Johnson performance, and the song is a rompin, stompin blues. "Gravediggin Man" has a groove that cannot be denied, courtesy of Levon Helm's classic drum sound. It is classic Levon, and classic blues, all at once. "Brokenhearted and Broke" is a good time dancin' blues, absolutely hysterical. We all know that man, and we all know that woman. "My Woman Left Me" is a burner all right, awfully pretty. This one is down and dirty blues, vivid, and not for the faint hearted. "Blues To Go" is brilliant and sounds great, late night west coast blues at it's best. Brilliant lyrics. "Reasons To Love" is a song with a great message, and it is not sappy at all. But is a song that needs to be heard. Brilliant!
If you are a blues lover, or a lover of good intelligent music, this is one cd you have to have in your collection. What I want to know is, why haven't I heard of Jeff Alexander or Larry Thurston before? Where have these guys been hiding?

Although Larry Thurston (ex Blues Brothers Band) has essentially retired from performing live, he has not lost his wonderfully rich baritone voice. Thurston takes the lead for producer/songwriter Jeff Alexander's latest blues project, "School For Fools," aided and abetted for the most part by ex-Band drummer Levon Helm.

Thurston's talents as a singer are evident right from the opening "Brokenhearted and Broke". Although the backing musicians may change the quality never wavers throughout. The best tracks are the two where Johnnie Johnson (ex Chuck Berry) guests on piano. The first, "Warning Shot," has a fairly laid back groove, and, with Arno Hecht doing a fine job on sax. The band then up the tempo for "Happy Hour," which is driven along by the neat combination of Johnson and Keith Doder (harp).

"School For Fools" is a very good CD which is packed full of original classy blues tunes. Apparently Jeff Alexander has more blues stuff in the pipeline. If it's half as good as "School For Fools" it will still be worth a listen!

Superb new blues cd with down to earth lyrics from the heart that anyone can relate to. Larry Thurston's rich, smooth vocals pour the songs out in an easy, comfortable way that made me at home with this cd the first time I heard it. Jeff put together an outstanding group of musicians including Levon Helm, drums, Johnny Johnson, piano, and many more notables. It immediately became a staple in my play list at "The Roadhouse"

This is simply a beautiful classy recording by L.Thurston and a number of tremedously gifted musicians, who have created an album with a smooth laid-back feeling, but at the same time edgy, due to the clever lyrics by Jeff Alexander. Great guest appearences by Levon Helm and Johnnie Johnson. You also have to get Johnnie last album "Johnnie be eighty, and stil bad", also with vocals by L.Thurston and songs by J. Alexander.